Gui Finkler reckons his late winner for Melbourne Victory against Newcastle Jets was the least his side deserved for their efforts.

Victory, who are 4.00 to win the Grand Final, closed within four points of league leaders Perth Glory with their 1-0 success at AAMI Park.

They were just five minutes away from being blanked by the struggling Jets when Finkler came up with a powerful free kick to settle the outcome.

It was a good way for Kevin Muscat’s side to bounce back from their derby defeat to Melbourne City in the previous round.

And their failure to score more than once against a Jets side who have shipped more goals than any other team in the league is not a concern for Finkler.

He said: “Fahid (Ben Khalfallah) hit the crossbar, Kosta (Barbarouses) hit the bar as well. In the second half we were a little more dangerous in the penalty area. We scored just once, but we still got the three points.

“We just need to work this week to get more chances to score. I think we deserved the win because we were looking for the three points from the first minute.”

Victory have two contrasting games leading up to the Asian Cup break, starting with Friday’s clash with Perth at Simonds Stadium, where they are 2.00 to win the game.

Four days after taking on the top side, they travel to Western Sydney to play a team four points adrift at the bottom with no wins in their first 10 games.

Muscat is set to be without midfielder Rashid Mahazi for both games as he picked up a hip injury against the Jets.

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